me
they’ll put a good deal more effort into this campaign, now that Gibraltar has
fallen. Malta may be lost soon as well. That has dramatically increased their
logistics potential, but it will be my job to work on that end for you. My
Admiral is already at sea with the British to see about it. But I’ve given this
a good deal of thought, General. Yes, I think you can win this battle up north,
but the Germans have plenty more they could commit here if they choose to do
so. Understand? The British have not yet seen the full might of the Wehrmacht,
and with Russia and the United States still neutral, their prospects are very
bleak. They’ll need all the help they can possibly get. This may be a very long
war.”
“Understood,
but at least we can make a real difference here if it comes to a fight.”
“You
certainly can, as long as the ammunition holds out.” Fedorov thought he should
voice this concern early on. “We found our capabilities more than equal to the
adversaries we faced, but that said, we’ve taken hits, and there have been some
alarming near misses. We’ve had to be very stingy with our ammunition once we
realized we were…” He looked at Popski now. “…going to be in theater for a good
long while.” He also wanted that to register on Kinlan—a good long while.
“That’s
another issue I’ll have to visit with the men in time. For now, I’ve got my
whole brigade strung out in road column. If we go north, how soon before we can
expect trouble?”
“I can
give you a detailed scouting report with my helicopter, if you’ll permit me.”
“You’re
a long way from the coast out here. What is your fuel situation?”
“We
were expecting to spend some time in our search and rescue operation, so we
laid on extra fuel. Eventually I will have to
rendezvous with my ship to replenish, but we should be able to operate here for
a while yet. We can set up a secure comm-link to you on HF bands not used here.
I can keep you informed as to the situation you will be facing, and also see
what I can do to help brief Wavell and O’Connor.”
“That
sounds acceptable,” said Kinlan. “Do you think you can get Wavell out here?”
“Possibly,
though he may be in the thick of things up north.”
“Then perhaps
we should start with the bird in hand and give this General O’Connor a little
tour of the brigade. Let’s take this thing slowly. If we can brief O’Connor and
get him over the fence, that may help us with Wavell when it comes to that. You
know I studied that man’s tactics in the academy—O’Connor as well—we all did.
To think of them being right here at my side … Well, all this is a bit
overwhelming.”
“You’ll
need time, though I’m afraid we have all too little to spare. Rommel may decide
things before we can intervene, but I’ll keep you informed of anything I hear
on that.” Fedorov extended his hand now, smiling.
“General,
thank you for giving me that small benefit of the doubt and having that look at
Sultan Apache, and welcome to this nice private little fight here. I’ll do
anything I can to help you. You have my word on this. Understand I’ve been
through all this with my own crew.”
“I
appreciate that,” said Kinlan, and they shook hands warmly.
Then to
Popski, Fedorov said: “Can you go inform General O’Connor that we would like
him to tour the brigade?”
“Well
enough,” said Popski, hoping he could come along too.
“And
tell him not to worry about Siwa,” said Kinlan. “I’ll handle the matter, then together
we’ll see about this General Rommel.”
“He’ll
be happy to hear that, sir.” Popski was glad to hear it as well, but he was no
fool. He had been listening very carefully to everything that was being said,
involved in all the discourse between Kinlan and this Russian Captain. He had
seen things on that ship, and on the ground here that he knew were quite
extraordinary, fantastic, as Fedorov had put it to him earlier. Slowly,
they’ll put a good deal more effort into this campaign, now that Gibraltar has
fallen. Malta may be lost soon as well. That has dramatically increased their
logistics potential, but it will be my job to work on that end for you. My
Admiral is already at sea with the British to see about it. But I’ve given this
a good deal of thought, General. Yes, I think you can win this battle up north,
but the Germans have plenty more they could commit here if they choose to do
so. Understand? The British have not yet seen the full might of the Wehrmacht,
and with Russia and the United States still neutral, their prospects are very
bleak. They’ll need all the help they can possibly get. This may be a very long
war.”
“Understood,
but at least we can make a real difference here if it comes to a fight.”
“You
certainly can, as long as the ammunition holds out.” Fedorov thought he should
voice this concern early on. “We found our capabilities more than equal to the
adversaries we faced, but that said, we’ve taken hits, and there have been some
alarming near misses. We’ve had to be very stingy with our ammunition once we
realized we were…” He looked at Popski now. “…going to be in theater for a good
long while.” He also wanted that to register on Kinlan—a good long while.
“That’s
another issue I’ll have to visit with the men in time. For now, I’ve got my
whole brigade strung out in road column. If we go north, how soon before we can
expect trouble?”
“I can
give you a detailed scouting report with my helicopter, if you’ll permit me.”
“You’re
a long way from the coast out here. What is your fuel situation?”
“We
were expecting to spend some time in our search and rescue operation, so we
laid on extra fuel. Eventually I will have to
rendezvous with my ship to replenish, but we should be able to operate here for
a while yet. We can set up a secure comm-link to you on HF bands not used here.
I can keep you informed as to the situation you will be facing, and also see
what I can do to help brief Wavell and O’Connor.”
“That
sounds acceptable,” said Kinlan. “Do you think you can get Wavell out here?”
“Possibly,
though he may be in the thick of things up north.”
“Then perhaps
we should start with the bird in hand and give this General O’Connor a little
tour of the brigade. Let’s take this thing slowly. If we can brief O’Connor and
get him over the fence, that may help us with Wavell when it comes to that. You
know I studied that man’s tactics in the academy—O’Connor as well—we all did.
To think of them being right here at my side … Well, all this is a bit
overwhelming.”
“You’ll
need time, though I’m afraid we have all too little to spare. Rommel may decide
things before we can intervene, but I’ll keep you informed of anything I hear
on that.” Fedorov extended his hand now, smiling.
“General,
thank you for giving me that small benefit of the doubt and having that look at
Sultan Apache, and welcome to this nice private little fight here. I’ll do
anything I can to help you. You have my word on this. Understand I’ve been
through all this with my own crew.”
“I
appreciate that,” said Kinlan, and they shook hands warmly.
Then to
Popski, Fedorov said: “Can you go inform General O’Connor that we would like
him to tour the brigade?”
“Well
enough,” said Popski, hoping he could come along too.
“And
tell him not to worry about Siwa,” said Kinlan. “I’ll handle the matter, then together
we’ll see about this General Rommel.”
“He’ll
be happy to hear that, sir.” Popski was glad to hear it as well, but he was no
fool. He had been listening very carefully to everything that was being said,
involved in all the discourse between Kinlan and this Russian Captain. He had
seen things on that ship, and on the ground here that he knew were quite
extraordinary, fantastic, as Fedorov had put it to him earlier. Slowly,
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